Falling oil prices have brought widespread layoffs in the oil fields of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania and questions about whether once-hot local economies are retrenching for good or just hitting pause before resuming growth at a slower pace. But the risk is acute in North Dakota, where the boom was especially strong. Oil production in the Bakken Formation, underlying the western part of the state, grew from barely a blip in 2006 to making the state the nation’s No. 2 oil producer after Texas by 2012. Thousands of workers flocked to the prairie, driving up rents and straining the resources of small communities. Today, the price of oil is down by more than half from its recent highs, bringing job losses and fears of a bust in the state. In December, a Moody’s report warned that the state’s economy could enter a “full-blown recession” if job losses continue. […]